Case Study
Electricity providers in the U.S. and Canada are making strides in educating and engaging consumers on better controlling how much energy they use, the resulting costs they incur and the benefits of shifting their usage.
These case studies collected by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative spotlight how smart energy technologies and programs have engaged consumers to empower them to match the energy they use with their needs.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, a Fortune 200 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than four million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. To do this, ComEd manages more than 90,000 miles of power lines in an 11,400-square-mile territory.
To effectively engage customers in historically marginalized communities, ComEd launched the Powering Lives Resource Fairs where customers could have in-person access to a ComEd customer service representative (CSR), review their recent bills and apply for financial assistance right on the spot.
The Powering Lives Resource Fairs have been effective in driving community engagement and removing barriers to convenient access to financial assistance. In 2023, a total of four fairs were held in the Woodlawn and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as in Ford Heights and Rockford, Illinois. Over 3,200 customers attended the fairs, and over one thousand customers connected to onsite bill assistance and energy-management programs.
